Muse of Fire
by bumblebee52
Summary: AU from 'Death and the Maiden'
1. Chapter 1

**Heads up: If you are a Elena stan or a Delena stan, this is not the story for you.**

* * *

Bonnie awakes gasping for air, tensing when she senses several people in the room. Only relaxing when she recognizes one and immediately jumps to her feet running over to them. Grinning when he catches her when she jumps into his arms, wrapping her legs around his waist. Leaning back she raises her hands to cup his face pressing her lips against his. Smiling when he kisses her back but she pulls back when she feels him tense.

"Damon?" she asks meeting his eyes, feeling dread wash over her when she sees the lost look on his face "Put me down." She says with a frown on her face. Once on her feet she steps away from him, letting her eyes travel down his body, smirking when she sees the bulge in his pants before taking another step back when she notices his demeanor. Instead of his usual timid manner he seems cocky, fully aware and sure of himself.

Bonnie raises her hands to her head, running her hands down the sides of her face "Take your shirt off."

Damon looks at her warily but does as she says, smirking at her reaction before feeling a twinge wondering what he did.

"Shit." She curses when she sees the same washboard stomach, but not even a trace of the scar she's become familiar with. Her eyes going to his neck not seeing a bite mark. When she looks back up to his face she sees a smirk and she lets out a shaky breath as she feels her eyes water.

"Bon?"

Bonnie shakes her head lifting her hands taking several steps away from Damon when he attempts to walk towards her "Stay away from me." She jumps when a fire starts in the fireplace, the flames rising when she feels herself start to panic, going out all together when she forces herself to calm down "What the hell is going on?"

"We just brought you back." Stefan says when he sees his brother staring at Bonnie concern clear on his face.

Bonnie turns her head to see Stefan staring back at her "Back from where?"

"From the Other Side." He answers.

"The Other Side?" Bonnie frowns "But I didn't die."

Bonnie stills when her eyes slam shut, seeing herself surrounded in a bright blue light, feeling as though she were floating, as she passed by a image of herself going in the opposite direction looking just as confused as she felt. Bonnie frowns and attempts to speed to the other side of the room only to realize she's running at a normal speed, and she covers her face with her hands starting to pace, feeling as though she's on the verge of a mental breakdown. She walks over to a wall and slides down pulling her knees to her chest, taking several deep breaths.

"Bonnie."

Bonnie lets out a long breath and stands up "I'm a witch, aren't I?" She questions looking around the room, leaning back against the wall when she sees Matt nod his head. A frown settling across her features when she sees the outraged look on the Gilbert's faces.

"What's your problem?" Bonnie frowns looking at Elena.

"You just kissed my boyfriend." Elena responds looking at Bonnie as if she were crazy.

"You're boyfriend?" Bonnie chuckles.

"Yes." she growls " _My_ boyfriend."

Bonnie blinks and looks at Damon who looks away with a guilty expression on his face.

It's then that Bonnie actually looks at the people in the room, noticing the changes from cosmetic to change of species. Taken back when she senses that Tyler is a hybrid and Stefan and Damon vampires. She laughs at the latter.

"What's so funny?"

"Damon and Stefan are vampires." Bonnie answers "Stefan wouldn't last a day as a vampire. He still gets freaked out when he sees me with a blood bag. And Damon…" she trails off "Well, he's only okay with me drinking from him. If he finds out that I fed from anyone else, he gets mad at me. It's the only time he gets mad at me actually. Well that and when he found out that I killed his boss." Bonnie rambles, stopping when she realizes she's gone off topic "In my defense she came on to him even after I told her to back off." Bonnie adds when she notices the shocked looks she gets in return "I take it I'm the judgey one here." She states when she realizes that didn't placate them.

"Yup." Damon smirks.

"Well if I wasn't convinced I don't belong here before, that definitely confirms it." Bonnie mutters "Oh, Damon is going to kill me." She covers her face.

"What do you mean you don't belong here?"

"Well for one, I haven't been a witch since the thirteen hundreds. Apparently Elena is with Damon. And unless my radar is on the fritz you're not a hybrid." Bonnie answers looking at Matt, smiling at the expression on his face. A frown settling on her face as she turns to Caroline giving her a once over "Wait a fucking minute, are you a vampire?" She grins looking at Caroline.

"Um, yeah."

"Fuck me." she mutters under her breath, amused by the revelation "So you're not a doppelganger."

Caroline shakes her head in the negative, suddenly curious about Bonnie's world. Taken back by the fact that there's another world where she's the special snowflake.

"So who is?"

Caroline points to Elena.

Bonnie folds her lips before bursting out into laughter "I'm sorry." she grins "Amazing, and you're still alive...well as much as you can be, I guess." Picking up on her status of a baby vamp.

"Wait, if you're the doppelganger, why am I here? Is my boyfriend here or something?" Bonnie asks, if Elena was the one everyone was protecting there's no way that she'd be a part of that.

"Kind of." Caroline answers "I'm not really sure of your current status." She clarifies when Bonnie tilts her head.

"Is it Stefan?"

"Matt?"

"Tyler?" Bonnie raises her eyebrows.

"Then who?"

"Jeremy."

Bonnie closes her eyes and sighs. It's not that she doesn't find Jeremy attractive, she could admit he's cute. As much as she knows that she could do better than the girl that she despises more than anything in the world's younger brother. So in order to not come off as a bitch, she decides to not comment. But judging by the snickers from Tyler, Caroline and Damon she figures she failed but she digresses.

"So how did I die?"

"Overuse of magic." Damon answers.

"Do I want to know what for?"

"No." Damon shakes his head.

"Okay, who brought me back?"

"Qetsiyah."

Everyone jumps when a fire starts in the fireplace, sparks flying towards them.

"I'm going to give you all the benefit of the doubt and let myself believe that you didn't know anything about her besides the fact that she's my ancestor in this ass backward world." Bonnie nods when Stefan and Damon nod in agreement "Okay, perfect." She clasps her hands together "And I'm assuming she's in the wind now that I'm here. What I need to find out is how to get back where I belong and I need to do this as quick as I possibly can. All I need to know is where I can find Niklaus. I never thought I'd ever say this but please tell me that he's alive."

Bonnie smiles when she hears the disdain in their voices as they confirm he's alive "Where?"

"New Orleans."

Bonnie beams "Finally something good." she grins, closing her eyes she starts to recite a spell, stopping when she hears Damon "What?" She questions when she opens her eyes to see him standing a couple of feet in front of her.

"You don't seriously think I'm going to let you go alone."

"Yes," Bonnie nods "Apparently I'm not your girlfriend, therefore what I do is none of your concern. And if you want to keep _your_ girlfriend, it would be in your best interest to stay here with her, because if you think I'm going to spend anymore time than necessary with her you've lost your mind."

"Why don't you like Elena?"

"If you don't mind me asking." Caroline adds when Bonnie looks at her.

"I've known Elena since we were kids, we were turned by the same guy. Upon that knowledge, she went ballistic. If he weren't there she would've killed me. What she didn't know is that there was nothing going on between us, I just wanted to be a vampire. I wasn't sleeping with him, but she was. And because she never believed me, she's been lurking in the shadows for the past seven hundred years, tormenting me and destroying my happiness at every chance she's gotten. The only thing I have that can't be her's is Damon. And now that I'm here...wherever here is and he's in _her_ clutches...pass."

"I know that Damon loves me and that he'd never do anything to hurt me. He's literally the only person that I trust and know that has my back no matter what. My only competition is his brother." Bonnie grins as she glances at Stefan "Who's ass can't go a day without getting into trouble." She elaborates when Caroline opens her mouth, already knowing she'll want details.

"Any more questions?"

"Not really a question." Damon states holding Bonnie's stare when she narrows her eyes at him clearly knowing where's going with this.

" _I'm not going to be the reason you lose her."_

Damon blinks when he hears her voice despite not seeing her open her mouth.

" _If you're that concerned pick someone."_ Bonnie looks at him as if she were losing her patience "Now Damon." She says out loud.

"I'm coming with you."

Bonnie blinks and takes a step back, taken back by his tone. Her Damon never speaks to her like this, and she's not sure how to feel about it. Despite this she rolls her eyes "She's not coming. If you're going to tag along, she's going to want to come too and if that's the case I'm going to sit my ass down and not move a muscle. I'll stay here and leave your Bonnie in my world. We'll all wait and see if she can get back on her own. You'll be stuck with me and-"

Damon clamps his hand over her mouth and takes a step towards her, smirking when she narrows her eyes at him "That's fine with me."

" _But I know someone who's not fine with it."_

Damon chuckles, finding her taunting amusing "You don't want to play this game with me Bonnie, I'm better at it than you are." He frowns when he feels her smile under his hand.

Without another word Bonnie lifts her knee, smirking when Damon falls to the floor his hands covering his crotch "I'm not your Bonnie, so I wouldn't bet on that if I were you." Bonnie replies breezily as she steps over Damon "Since you think I need a bodyguard, I'll take Stefan." She walks over to Stefan holding her hand out, grinning when he takes it without hesitation.

Damon jumps to his feet but groans when Bonnie and Stefan vanish into thin air right before he reaches them.


	2. Chapter 2

When Bonnie opens her eyes she expects to see her friends hovering over her, or atleast surrounding her, but instead she sees a stream of light peeking through dark curtains. Her ears assaulted with the sound of birds chirping and a conversation between Stefan and an unfamiliar voice as if they were right beside her. The smell of bacon, pancakes, coffee and freshly squeezed orange juice calling her name. Her body aches when she tries to move and she freezes realizing that she's not only naked but not alone. Soft and even breaths hitting the back of her ear. Looking down she sees her arm directly over theirs, their fingers interlaced, a male appendage poking her in her backside.

Startled she immediately jumps out of the bed losing her balance landing on the floor with a thud when she sees her company is Damon. She's so busy trying to remember how she ended up in bed with Damon of all people she doesn't realize how fast she got out of bed. She attempts to get up but stills when she sees him stir, his eyes opening when his hand moves across the bed seemingly searching for someone. Bonnie stops breathing when his eyes land on her, a soft smile appearing when he sees her staring back at him.

Bonnie frowns when she sees the look in his eyes when their gazes meet, her eyes widening at the words that come out of his mouth,

"Baby, what's wrong?"

It takes everything in her to not scream but feels her hackles raise when he frowns, suddenly finding herself not being able to move at all. Watching as Damon's eyes bore into hers, seemingly trying to find something.

"You're not Bonnie." He states his voice filled with such sadness that it leaves her dumbfounded.

"What do you mean I'm not Bonnie?"

"Bonnie doesn't look at me like that. When she sees me her eyes light up and I can feel how much she loves me. Your eyes are guarded and I can feel your fear. You look like you want to run away from me instead of...well what Bonnie usually wants to do when she sees me." He clears his throat, when he feels as though his face is on fire.

Bonnie frowns when she sees him take the sheet that's covering him off, regaining control of her body as he hands her sheet before turning his back to her. Her frown deepening when she hears him muttering a protection spell before he gets up, walking over to the dresser stepping into a pair of sweatpants before he turns back to her.

"Our bathroom is right through this door," he motions over his shoulder to the slightly ajar door "and our" he stops and sighs "the closet is right behind you. Bonnie's clothes are...well you'll know them when you see them. When you're done, just come down stairs and we'll figure out what's going on and go from there."

Bonnie feels a twinge at the sadness in his voice, she starts to open her mouth but stops when he walks out of the room.

"Damon."

Bonnie tenses when she hears the voice. She jumps to her feet, her head looking around the room, trying to find somewhere to hide but stops when she hears his reply,

"Whore of Babylon."

"Words hurt, Damon."

Katherine, Bonnie deduces. Damon would never speak to Elena that way.

"Would you prefer a stake through the heart instead? What are you even doing here?"

"Your brother." Katherine replies.

"Oh please, Stefan might have his moments but he knows better than to go between those legs."

"Ooh." she purrs "Someone's feisty this morning. I'm here to see Bonnie you idiot. Why else would I step foot into this place?"

"To antagonize me, like you're doing right now."

"You'd be bored without me."

"We obviously have two very different definitions of bored."

"Because Bonnie brings you so much excite-"

Bonnie flinches when she hears a loud crash.

"Keep her name out of your mouth."

Bonnie sits down on the edge of the bed, trying to figure out what's happening. Searching her mind for the last thing she remembers, stilling when a vision of Qetsiyah grabbing her head staring into her eyes as she recites a spell watching as a bright blue light surrounds them feeling as if she were floating as she passed by an image of herself going in the opposite direction looking annoyed before their eyes meet.

Bonnie feels herself start to shake and rests her head in her hands, jumping when the door opens, clutching the sheet to her chest.

"I'm sorry." Damon apologizes "My parents are here, so I just need a shirt." He explains as he walks further into the room, turning a bright red when he catches Bonnie staring at him.

At first Bonnie smiles, slightly amused that he seems flustered. She never thought she'd ever see Damon blush, and especially not because of her, but her amusement fades when she realizes that she had just been ogling him. A brief flare of concern running through her when she sees a scar next to his v line...Bonnie blinks, shaking her head trying to clear her mind of where it's trying to take her "Um," Bonnie clears her throat "Was that Katherine?" Trying to suppress her disappointment when he slides a shirt over his head.

Damon frowns "Who?"

"Katherine...Elena's doppelganger."

"If that wasn't Katherine then who was that?" Bonnie asks when Damon looks at her, confusion clear in his eyes.

Damon looks at Bonnie before sighing and walking over to a shelf picking up what seems to be two Grimoires, walking out of the room telling her that he'd explain everything downstairs.

Bonnie lets out a breath, running her hand through her hair as she walks towards the bathroom, stopping in her tracks when her eyes land on a picture on the dresser. She blinks several times, her mouth opening when she sees a picture of herself and Damon, a big grin on her face as she looks down while Damon has his arms wrapped around her waist seemingly whispering something in her ear. Picking the picture up, further inspection shows she's in a black halter floor length dress, her hair half pulled back the rest hanging in loose waves down her back. She looks...happy. After finally tearing her eyes away from herself and Damon, she spot what seems to be Matt and Caroline talking in the background, the latter's hands in mid air, making it clear that it was a candid shot. And she feels like she's about to fall over.

* * *

When Bonnie walks into the kitchen she stops mid step when she sees Damon and Stefan sitting at a table along with a man and a woman who both stop their conversation when their eyes land on her. The latter of which lets out a long breath before exchanging a brief look with the man.

"Bonnie, this is Lily and Giuseppe. My parents." Damon smiles.

Bonnie smiles when she sees Stefan look at Damon, clearing his throat.

"And my annoying little brother, Stefan." Damon adds.

Bonnie jumps when she suddenly hears several heartbeats, tentatively raising her hands to her ears, panic washing over her when she runs her hands down to her neck, not feeling a pulse, her skin ice cold.

"Bon?"

Bonnie's eyes flit to Stefan.

"You okay?"

Bonnie starts to respond but stops, groaning when she feels a painful throbbing in her gums.

"This isn't memory loss, Damon." Lily says after wiping her mouth turning her attention to Bonnie.

"You don't belong here, do you?" Lily asks staring at Bonnie, giving her a knowing look.

"I don't think so." Bonnie answers through the throbbing pain as she glances at the three men staring back at her. Her eyes lingering on Giuseppe, his actual appearance not matching up with the image she associated with him in her mind. She expected his eyes to be cold and cruel but it's the opposite. Especially when he looks at Lily. Who on the other hand, seems exactly as she imagined her, save the color of her hair.

"What's the last thing you remember?" Lily inquires, bringing Bonnie out of her musings.

"I was watching Qetsiyah perform a spell to bring me back to life. But then everything stopped, she was standing in front of _me_ reciting this spell and then I'm waking up in…" she trails off, her eyes flitting to Damon before clearing her throat "I'm here."

"Qetsiyah?"

Bonnie nods, wondering why her ancestor's name was the only thing that seemed to faze her.

"Well that wasn't smart." Lily remarks.

"It was a last resort. I couldn't resurrect myself-"

"Says who? Are you not a Bennett?"

"No, I'm a Bennett." Bonnie replies, shifting under her stare.

"Your use of expression clouded your mind. Not only that, Qetsiyah used you as a guise to come back to life. More than likely she took your powers and used them to boost hers or is simply keeping you around as a power source. The place where you died, she was there as well. With your use of expression...something she was an avid user of, she tapped into your powers and…" Lily trails off "It's why you felt like someone was draining the life out of you. As for why she sent you here. She needs to keep your powers until she's done with whatever she came back to life to accomplish. So unless you find a way back on your own, you're stuck here until she's done."

"But if that were the case, wouldn't I be a witch here?" Bonnie frowns.

"Bonnie hasn't been a witch for centuries, she's probably betting on that to keep using you as her power source. Qetsiyah is powerful in her own right but she's also power hungry. Which is where your powers come into play. Qetsiyah is smart, she knows better than anyone that a witch is ruled by their emotions and her's are as strong as they come so they will cloud her mind and will distract her from her true goal. Your powers are her safety net."

"So she'll kill me?"

"If it comes down to it, yes." Lily answers, deciding that there's no point in lying to her.

"How do you-"

"You're not Bonnie...at least not Damon's Bonnie. So your mind is easier to access." Lily gives her a once over "And then there's the fact that your line may be the most powerful in your world, but in this one," Lily sighs "well the Bennett line lost that title as soon as you turned yourself into a vampire. Your line ended with you, Bonnie."

Bonnie blinks several times shaking her head, she had figured as much but she thought if maybe it wasn't said out loud she wouldn't have to face it "If I'm a vampire then..."

"We're witches." Lily confirms.

Bonnie's first thought is wondering what kind of ass backwards place is this and why the hell she would allow herself to go through transition. But then it hits her that Damon's family doesn't seem to mind that he's dating a vampire. Which is the opposite...at least where she's from.

"Then why-"

"Damon has made a point of letting us know that you're not going anywhere so we deal with it." Lily smiles at Bonnie after giving her husband a look.

"You're the only that has lasted this long." Stefan groans when Damon smacks the back of his head.

"The only thing that's remotely the same in my world." Bonnie smiles when his parents look at her as if they were waiting for her to react.

"You usually step in." Stefan says rubbing the back of his head.

"No powers." Bonnie says "And your vampires so…" She shrugs.

"Oh." Bonnie blinks muttering 'Right.' under her breath "You were born in the eighteen hundreds. You both fell in love with the same woman. Her name was...well is Katherine. She turned you both. Everything kind of went downhill from there. For some reason you both came back to Mystic Falls about two years ago and history repeated itself with Elena."

She frowns when she sees the twin looks of disgust on both Damon and Stefan's faces, deciding not to look at their parents.

"Well Bonnie must be having the time of her life." Stefan smiles after getting over Bonnie's recap "Bonnie hates Elena." he explains when he notices the puzzled look in Bonnie's eyes "Elena isn't human...right?" He asks, knowing Bonnie will tear her limb from limb if presented the chance.

Bonnie shakes her head.

"Good." He nods turning back to his brother who has a scowl on his face, following his gaze to see Elena walking inside, rolling his eyes when she puts on her nice act when she sees his parents.

"Good morning Mr. and Mrs. Salvatore." she beams at them "Stefan." She nods out a greeting, deciding to pay not attention to Damon.

"Elena." Lily gives her a polite smile, apologizing for her husband and son's lack of manners.

Elena frowns when she looks at Bonnie, letting out a deep breath when she sees the wary look in her eyes instead of the usual hatred she's greeted with. She's just about to ask what happened when Bonnie swiftly snaps her neck.

Bonnie blinks as she watches Elena fall to the floor and slowly looks back up to the Salvatores not sure what came over her. But manages to pull an explanation out of her ass,

"From my experience, you can get things done quicker without her interference. Based on the way you all acted when she came in. I'm guessing you either feel the same or you just don't like her. In either case, any information you need you can search her mind for it while she's...incapacitated. If her age is an issue, I know the spell to lower the barrier of her mind. Though based on the power I feel radiating from you all, I don't think it will be an issue." Bonnie rambles though it's mainly directed towards Lily since no else seemed to have mind. Slightly surprised when Lily merely nods, though she can sense she's not all that happy about what she just did to Elena.

"Do we have any problems that come prior to mine?"

"I don't know Stefan, do we?" Damon looks at his brother.

Stefan shrugs "I haven't talked to Caroline in a week. I think she's mad at me or something."

"We might." Damon looks back to Bonnie "You might want to call Lexi."

Bonnie frowns wondering why she's being tasked with calling someone she barely knows, before it registers that she's alive.

"She probably doesn't even know Lexi." Stefan frowns at the mention of the blonde, which throws Bonnie off.

"Lexi is kind of like your…" Damon trails off "You've been taking care of her for the last ten years."

"Taking care...Lexi's human?"

"Wow." Stefan mutters "Your world sounds like Hell." He comments after Bonnie tells him about how he and Lexi are best friends but Damon killed her in order to throw the council off of his tracks.

"You have no idea." Bonnie mutters in agreement "Is that my Grimoire?" She asks when her eyes land on her family's crest on the spine of the book under the Grimoire Damon was previously looking through. When he nods she immediately goes over to the table picking it up, marveling at how old it looks. She wonders exactly how old she is as she runs her fingers over the carving, feeling a twinge when she doesn't feel the energy she usually feels when she makes contact with it. Her mind immediately goes to how miserable Abby looked when she talked about how she couldn't feel her garden anymore and feels a wave of sadness wash over her before swallowing trying to remind herself that this is only temporary and this isn't her life. Wondering how Bonnie does it and how she's managed to last this long.

* * *

 **To the guest that wanted clarification on the whole telepathy between Damon and Bonnie, it's just a nod to the books :)**


	3. Chapter 3

"For a big bad vampire you sure can't handle teleportation very well." Bonnie smiles as she watches Stefan finally open his eyes, waiting for him to realize that he was walking or at least acknowledge her new clothes.

"There's a trashcan over there if you need it." She adds when he looks at her.

"I'm fine." He croaks, putting his hands on his knees as he bends over.

Bonnie kneels down in front of him cupping his face, watching intently as the color returns to his face "Better?" She asks the moment he meets her gaze. A frown gracing her face when he abruptly stands up taking a couple of steps away from her, but shrugs it off, figuring that they aren't close.

"So you and Damon?" Stefan asks when she stands up wondering why a brief look of hurt flashes in her eyes as she looks at him.

"Aw honey bun, are you jealous?" Bonnie teases grinning up at the younger Salvatore using her nickname for her Stefan, and if she didn't know any better she could've sworn she saw him blush.

"No." he shakes his head "I'm just a little...shocked."

"And why is that?" Bonnie raises an eyebrow, making herself appear directly in front of him smirking when he looks flustered by their proximity, scrambling to put space between them "Do you think I'm not worthy of your brother's attention?" she questions walking towards him until she has him backed against a wall "You're afraid of me." she states when he opens his mouth "Why?"

"I'm not." Stefan denies immediately.

"Then why are you afraid to be near me?"

"Damon-"

"Is with Elena, so he shouldn't be an issue." she holds his gaze "When was the last time you fed?"

Stefan blinks.

"From the vein."

"I can't."

"Rippers" she stops when she sees the look in his eyes "I'm a witch Stefan, besides your eyes practically make you an open book." she gives him a small smile before continuing as if she hadn't said anything at all "can drink from the vein, they just have to feed from other supernaturals before they can control themselves." Bonnie sighs when he frowns "When you drink from a human, their blood gives you a high…" she trails off "It's addicting" she continues once he nods "You need to feed from other supernatural beings. Our blood is kind of like a curb to the addiction...and when you can control your intake from supernaturals you should be able to control yourself with a human." Bonnie finishes twirling around after taking his hand in her's giving it a squeeze when she feels him tense.

"Bon…" He starts to protest when she stops in front of a bar he knows all too well, wondering why she knows about this place until he remembers that this isn't _his_ Bonnie.

"You don't trust yourself." She says turning around to face him just before she opens the door.

"No." He says after a pause.

"Okay," Bonnie nods and decides not to push him, turning to lead him back in the direction of the Quarter stopping in front of an open space.

Stefan frowns when Bonnie stops walking all of a sudden, blinking several times when a building appears out of thin air after she states her name, adding that she's a descendant of Qetsiyah, Neima, Ayanna, Agatha, Emily, and Sheila." Watching as a large wooden door opens after she says, "The boy is a friend." and that two more will be arriving soon, describing Damon and Elena.

As soon as they're seated, Bonnie stops their waiter from offering menus ordering their meals in a language Stefan doesn't know. To which he nods and walks off after giving Stefan a dirty look.

"Sorry." Bonnie smiles "They don't really like vampires. The only reason they even let me in here is because of my ranking."

"Your ranking?" Stefan frowns.

Bonnie looks at him for a moment before coming to the conclusion that he doesn't know anything about Bonnie beside her name and that she's a witch. And she wonders what her counterpart is even doing in Mystic Falls.

"Stefan, when's my birthday?" She decides to ask a simple question, having decided to test her theory. Letting out a long breath when he looks down.

When Stefan looks up he sees Bonnie looking as if she were in the midst of a prayer, opening her eyes leaving her hands clasped together as she lowers them to the table, smiling at the waiter as he places a glass of water in front of her along with a bowl of gumbo. A glass of bourbon in front of Stefan before asking if he wants something smirking at Bonnie who rolls her eyes with a small smile on her face in response.

"You two know each other?" Stefan looks at Bonnie once the waiter is out of earshot.

"My birthday, Stefan." She repeats ignoring his question.

"I don't know." He admits after a few moments, waiting for her reaction. Thrown off when their is none. Instead receiving a nod as she wipes her mouth.

"What _do_ you know about me?" she questions "Beside anything about my line, powers, abilities, nothing superficial."

"We've never really talked."

"You've known me for two years but we've never talked?"

"You...you shut me out."

"And why is that?" Bonnie asks tilting her head, bracing herself when he sighs, not bothering to hide her disapproval when he tells her about her counterpart. Straight out rolling her eyes when she hears that they didn't even know she wasn't alive until they needed her help.

"Uncanny." she states, deciding not to address any of her newly learned information...until she gets back to the others already knowing that they're probably not that far behind "My Stefan isn't very good on keeping things close to the vest either. One look and he tells me everything."

Stefan raises his glass to his lips in response. A part of him feels like going on the defense for himself but decides against it, knowing that his counterpart is probably just as intimidated by Bonnie as he is.

"With the exception of what I've seen from Caroline, you're the only one that is slightly similar to my friends."

"Your friends with me and Caroline?"

Bonnie smiles, not taking offense to his shock in the slightest "Stefan is more of a soft spot than anything else, and Caroline reminds me of Elena before we were turned."

Bonnie nods when she sees that Stefan has a question but is trying to decide on whether or not he wants to ask her.

"You said you wanted to be a vampire."

"That's not really a question." Bonnie remarks as she takes a sip from her glass.

"Why?"

"In my time, witches were highly respected. Until one day a rogue warlock started making charms that would make our magic useless as long as someone wore the charm. And when word spread about them, men came and took us, we fought but it was useless. Needless to say, we weren't treated with respect anymore. Then one day, a man came into our village, demanding that he was brought the strongest of our coven. Which was Elena and I. When we picked up on what he was, we tried to run. We knew it was pointless but we tried anyway. Apparently it paid off because he admired that we still had fight in us since most of the women had given up and became resigned to our new life."

Bonnie sighs before continuing "He demanded that we did spells for him. We refused but he said it was either that we come with him or stay and await for our...fate. Neither option was appealing but if we were willing to take our chances with a vampire...that's kind of saying something. Thankfully he had a family and in the times that he wasn't bossing us around we were allowed to spend time with them. Well when they weren't in coffins. After a while I became friends with one of them, his name was Kol." she smiles remembering her time with him, sobering when she feels Stefan's gaze on her "He was the only one that actually had some form of respect and had the decency to not talk down to me. And Elena took a liking to the one called Elijah. I begged Kol to turn me but he refused, so I went out into the garden one day and injured myself knowing that that would give them motive to give me their blood. Elijah was the one that came to my 'rescue'. Elena saw him giving me his blood and jumped to conclusions, so I guess that they were share feeding in her free time." Bonnie gives Stefan a look, continuing once she sees that it clicks "After he healed me I went to my room and made myself a daylight ring before I stabbed myself in the heart with Elijah's dagger and completed my transition on a maid."

"Elijah found me burying her body and he was livid. But when I explained to him that there was no point in being a witch if I couldn't defend myself against what was going on, he conceded and agreed to help me. Which just added fuel to the fire that was started when Elena saw Elijah healing me. One night he was showing me how to control my bloodlust and Elena came and attacked me. She snuck up on me, broke my arms and once I screamed out in pain she forced vervain down my throat and was just about to stake me when Elijah stopped her and I took that as my chance to run. So I did. The only reason I'm even alive is because I linked Elijah's life force with my own. So if I died, so does he. Niklaus didn't care and decided to test that theory. But because I anticipated that, I did a safety net."

"What kind of safety net?" Stefan asks not believing his ears.

"The only thing that can officially kill me is Elijah's dagger, and when it served it's purpose I destroyed it. So, even though they will always be stronger and faster than I am, they literally cannot kill me. Or Elijah through extension. In other words, we're eternally screwed, our lives can only be ended by taking the cure which Niklaus destroyed the minute he found out existed because he actually wants to live forever."

"I'm not seeing why this made Elena hate you."

"Would you like it if someone was linked to your lover for eternity and there's no way you could do anything to stop it? Or that someone the same age as you has an advantage over you? And then there's the fact that she's completely insane. She compelled someone to dagger him, just to see if I would be neutralized. And then there's the fact that through my actions I"

"Did it work?" He blurts before he can stop himself.

"In my world there were five daggers that were made especially for the Originals. So once the dagger was put in their hearts, that was the only one that could put them down. And since his dagger is gone, Elijah can't be neutralized."

"You made it sound like Elena hated you for no reason."

Bonnie frowns.

"Can't Elijah just tell her that nothing was going on?"

"He did and has repeatedly done so for the past seven hundred years, Elena just does not care. The fact that we are from the same line and that Elijah's blood was in my system at all just didn't sit well with her. Elena is very possessive, when she sees someone as hers, she doesn't want anyone else to go near them. As far as our friendship, I honestly cannot tell you what happened. It's like she just decided that it meant nothing. Her feelings for me changed over night. One day it was me and her, the next it was her and Rebekah."

"Wait-"

"Unbeknownst to me, the maid was a doppelganger. I should have known there was a reason she was still around. She was the only one that was constant. All the others...disappeared."

Bonnie sighs seeing he's about to ask another question, causing her to wonder if Klaus is the one she should be worried about "I'm just as confused about this hell hole as you seem to be confused about my world."

"In coming." Bonnie smiles when she feels his presence, patting the seat next to her when Stefan looks back at her after spotting his brother.

"How long have we been here?" He asks sliding next to Bonnie.

"Well, by the time you finally became conscious I had been through two stores, walking out of the fourth. I really like to shop." she shrugs "Don't worry, I swiped Damon's card before we left." Laughing when she looks at her boyfriend's counterpart as she slides his card towards him, clearly not amused, not acknowledging that Elena is seated in front of her.

"And then there's that he can be very resourceful when he wants to be." She smiles when she sees his eyes return to her face.

"How is Nyssa?"

"She's Nyssa." Damon answers with a shrug knowing that it's no point in asking how she knows about her.

Bonnie nods and turns to Stefan "Okay, so is Klaus the hybrid here or is it one of the others?"

"No, it's Klaus."

Bonnie closes her eyes "Is Kol alive?"

"No." Stefan shakes his head, frowning when he sees Bonnie look down.

"Who?"

"Jeremy."

"How?" Bonnie asks, disbelief clear in her voice.

"Long story short," Damon cuts in "we needed the cure. Jeremy is one of the five so we figured killing an Original would be the quickest way to reveal the map."

Bonnie raises her eyebrows and smiles when she sees the glint in his eyes. Recognizing it as the look her Damon gives her when he sees that he's actually impressed her or caught her off guard. The only difference being the lack of a blush coloring his cheeks. And that small difference brings her out of where her mind was trying to take her and she looks away clearing her throat.

"Kind of cut throat but…" Bonnie trails off with a shrug.

"Actually, it was my plan." Elena steps in, effectively getting Bonnie's attention.

"And that's something you're proud of?" Bonnie raises an eyebrow "Killing an entire line of vampires just so you would no longer have to be one? Imagine this Elena, say you're human and you're walking down the street with your boyfriend, girlfriend or someone you just met that you're vibing with. Or you're on a date. Or you're hanging out with your friend. _Or_ that you're a little girl that was lost and then all of a sudden the person that you were just laughing with, making out or someone that was trying to help you find your mommy or daddy all of a sudden just stopped, started to cough up blood, gasp for air, dropped to the ground, etcetera" Bonnie waves her hand "and then just...died. How would you react?"

Elena blinks, opening and closing her mouth several times before looking to Damon and Stefan who are staring back at her, making no attempt to come to her rescue.

"That plan that you just seem so damn proud of resulted in a lot of heartbreak and trauma. Not all vampires are bad Elena. Even the holier than thou, self righteous ones have blood on their hands. Instead of ending a whole line you could have just went after the ones that kill for shits and giggles, they're not that hard to find. Hell you could have broke into a prison, and went from there." Bonnie throws her hands in the air "Yeah, it would have been a lot of work but if you wanted it that bad you would have been willing to work for it. And Jeremy would be harder to take down. As for actually killing Kol, I don't know how you pulled it off on your own. He must be the polar opposite of mine. And wait a damn minute." Bonnie frowns "Out of all the Originals to go after you went after him? Is Klaus just some random badass here?"

"He's the sire of our line."

Bonnie looks at Stefan who explains further. Nodding when he's done, "Well I guess. But everything I said still stands."

Elena flinches but remembers her reaction when she thought it was Damon's plan and says as much, adding that; "For someone who claims to be in a relationship, you sure aren't acting like it." Though the last part wasn't meant to be said out loud.

"It was the look in his eyes. Whenever Damon sees that he's actually impressed me or sees that I'm happy or that he managed to get me a gift that I actually like, his eyes light up. So when I saw a glint in his eyes, it just kind of made me overlook it because it reminded me of him. Not that that makes it okay but…" Bonnie trails off when the last part finally registers and she calmly takes a breath before taking her fork and leaning over the table forcing it through the web of Elena's hand, raising her other hand to the brunettes head grabbing a fist of her hair forcing it to the side as she opens her mouth,

"Listen to me you prissy little bitch." she growls in her ear delighting in the cry Elena lets out "I am not your Bonnie, so any little comments you make that _she_ might let slide, I won't. Yes, I am in a relationship with Damon, but this is how I am. And if you think how I'm acting with your Damon is bad you should come to my world. I'd love to hear your opinion of that. And of all people to talk about being inappropriate while in a relationship you are the last person that should be able to tell me a damn thing." she uses her magic to paralyze Elena when she feels her start to squirm "You spent a whole day reliving your relationship with Stefan when he had no memories. And you almost let him kiss you. Yes, I kissed Damon but I had just woken up in my own personal Hell and wasn't aware of it yet. What happened when I realized he wasn't mine?"

Bonnie yanks her hair when she doesn't answer.

"You told him to put you down."

"And…"

"Backed away."

"Even when…"

"He tried to walk up to you."

Bonnie tightens her grip but pulls away from Elena's ear waiting for her to meet her eyes before she speaks "That's right. But even if I were intentionally flirting with him, remember that he's not exactly trying to make me stop." she grins when she sees the flash of rage in the doppelganger's eyes before she glances at Damon who's staring at Bonnie in shock "Don't go to hard on him Lena, I paralyzed him so he couldn't have stepped in even if he wanted to."

"She's a baby vamp." Bonnie says when she sees the stunned look on Stefan's face asking her how she knew about that, "Her mind is like a walk in closet that's not even halfway full. Vampires aren't the only ones that can invade someone's mind."

"Bonnie Bennett?"

"Yes?" Bonnie looks up to see a tall redhead at their table "You must be Salma." Raising an eyebrow when she nods her head shyly.

"If I give you this," she says holding up a black envelope "we're even."

"I cannot speak on her behalf but if whatever in there is good enough, from what I've heard about her I'm sure she'll be willing to call it even."

Salma shakes her head "She's not the same person she is when she's with them."

"Well if that's true then she'll hold onto your debt just from what you're doing right now." Bonnie points out.

"When will she be back?"

"That's something that will depend on how competent she is, how much she wants to get back and what's in that envelope on _my_ half."

Salma reluctantly places the envelope in Bonnie's hand "Just be sure to tell her it was me, okay?"

"Okay." Bonnie nods wondering why she's so afraid of her counterpart when everyone else seems to be okay with her as she watches the girl take a step backwards, bowing before vanishing in a puff of smoke.

Stefan slowly turns back to Bonnie who looks just as confused as he is, "How long was I out?"

"Long enough for me to find out Bonnie isn't exactly a stranger around here."

"Wait." Damon says when Bonnie slides out of the booth after Stefan gets up.

Bonnie looks down at Damon waiting for him to say something,

"Aren't you going to open it?"

"Only as a last resort." she answers putting it in her left boot "If you want to come, she can't tag along." Already knowing that he's about to invite himself.

"Bon…"

"I said no, Damon."

"Why?"

"Because she can't keep her mouth shut when it comes to keeping a secret to save her own life. If she can't do it for herself, then she sure as hell won't be able to do it for me. And if she's there and shit goes south both of you will choose her and leave me for dead. If we're doing this I need your head in the game and you can't do that if her life is the tiniest bit on the line. The only reason I'd even let you come if Stefan has to be there to is because the Originals wouldn't actually let something happen to him if it comes down to it. Me however, not even the tiniest bit of a damn, and you either so we" she points back and forth between herself and Damon "will have each other's back. But since Elena is here, that's not the case. So now it's me and Stefan."

Damon jumps up from his seat, walking right up to Bonnie who stays put holding his stare "That better be the last time I ever hear that sentence come out of your mouth." Smirking when he hears her whimper.

"For all I know this might be the last day _I_ see you. So, no promises." Smiling when he makes a face, frowning when he grabs her wrist when she turns away from him.

"Stefan," he turns to his brother who looks at him, amusement clear in his eyes "stay with Elena."

Stefan smiles but turns to Bonnie who gives him a brief nod and he turns back to Damon grinning as he makes a show of stepping out of their way.

"Damon," Elena says standing up.

"I'll be back soon."

"No, I'm coming with you." She frowns walking up to stand right beside Damon.

"I do not have time for this." she grits looking at all of them "So since Elena can't handle you leaving her side and you are just _soo_ against me going with Stefan I will go by myself."

"No." Both Stefan and Damon say simultaneously, ignoring the look they get from Elena.

"Then figure it out." She growls looking back and forth between the two.

"Why are you in such a rush to go see Klaus?" Elena asks.

"I don't have the patience to play twenty questions with you right now. I'm already being held behind because for some reason despite all of the bullshit you put them through they cannot stand to leave you alone. You know what…" Bonnie stops and takes a deep breath "I'm going to walk away and if _one_ " she holds up one finger looking back and forth from Stefan and Damon "of you are not with me by the time I'm at the door, _both_ of you will be left here until I'm done."

Bonnie turns her back to them and starts to walk away smiling when she sees a pair of intense eyes staring at her as he holds the door open for her.

"Now was that so hard?" She taunts as she breezes past him.


End file.
